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ARMHS - Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services

The 2001 Legislature authorized the expansion of Minnesota’s Medical Assistance (MA) state plan to cover a broader array of rehabilitation services. The MA option is referred to as the "Rehab Option". DHS worked closely with counties, advocates and providers to develop the proposal, which was subsequently included in the Governor’s budget.

These new mental health services include MA coverage for adult rehabilitative mental health services (ARMHS) and mental health crisis response services. Note these services are not limited to people with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI). About 15,000 people will receive expanded services and an additional 5,000 people will receive services for the first time.

The adult rehabilitative mental health services (ARMHS) may only be provided by an entity (a county or provider) that has been certified using the provider certification process developed by the Department of Human Services in consultation with counties and others.

News

Acceptance of Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS) certification applications begins July 1, 2007 (PDF) 3 pages.

ARMHS Applicant Provider Information Session (Save the Dates)

All potential Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS) provider applicants are required to attend an ARMHS applicant provider information session prior to submission of the ARMHS certification application. This three hour session will be scheduled quarterly using in-studio and regionally accessible ITV locations throughout Minnesota. The next sessions will be held on the following Fridays in 2013: March 1 (9:30am-12:30pm), June 7 (9:30am-12:30pm) September 6 (9:30am-12:30pm) and December 6 (9:30am-12:30pm). The learning objectives for this overview include:

• Understanding the definition and purpose of ARMHS

• Understanding the features of ARMHS, including its service categories and quality assurance considerations the potential ARMHS provider should consider.

• Previewing the ARMHS certification process, including features of the application, appendix and assurances.

Potential ARMHS provider entities should register the qualified clinical supervisor or clinical consultant, as well as the entity’s administrative representative. See our training materials Web page for information about registering for a session and hand-outs for the training.

Current providers

List of Current ARMHS Providers for the State of Minnesota

Expiration Date of Certification of Current Providers

Reporting Requirements

Mental Health Information System (MHIS) Materials

Reporting through the Mental Health Information System (MHIS) is required of all Adult Rehabilitative Mental Health Services (ARMHS), providers. The MHIS reporting instructions and materials are located on the Adult Mental Health Technical Assistance page. The web-based Mental Health Information System (MHIS) started July 1, 2012 and replaced the POSR system..

Common questions

What is the Medical Assistance (MA) Rehabilitation Option?

Who are the eligible recipients of ARMHS?

Who may provide these services?

How will these services be reimbursed?

What is the certification process?

Documentation/Forms/Training

ARMHS Supplemental Authorization form (Form DHS-4159A-ENG)

LOCUS Level of Care Recording form (Form DHS-6249-ENG)

LOCUS Level of Care MHCP Provider Manual page

Functional Assessment Information- MHCP Provider Manual page

MA documentation: an online course

Functional Assessment: an online course

Documents

ARMHS Certification Application Process

The moratorium on acceptance of ARMHS certification applications will be lifted as of July 1, 2007. The following new application documents are to be used by entities that are seeking to provide ARMHS after July 1, 2007. This third version of the application includes additional criteria and steps to demonstrate the applicant provider entity's readiness to provide and document services according to established standards. Each individual provider entity should complete the initial certification application appropriate to their status type (county, tribal or private provider). If you have any questions, concerns, or inquiries please contact Melinda Shamp by phone at 651-431-4375 or by e-mail at Melinda.M.Shamp@state.mn.us.

County Providers

County-operated entity certification process and application (DOC) (New 7/15/2010) 32 pages.

ARMHS certification process diagram for county-operated entity (PDF) 1 page

Private Providers

Private provider entity certification process and application (DOC) (New 7/15/2010) 36 pages.

ARMHS certification process diagram for private provider (PDF) 1 page

Tribal Providers

Tribal-operated entity certification process and application (DOC) (New 7/15/2010) 33 pages.

ARMHS certification process diagram for tribal-operated entity (PDF) 1 page

ARMHS Recertification Application Process

The following recertification documents are to be used by providers seeking recertification of ARMHS. If you have any questions, concerns, or inquiries please contact Melinda Shamp by phone at 651-431-4375 or by Email at Melinda.M.Shamp@state.mn.us. In addition, please check to ensure you are using the latest version of the documents.

Overview of the Recertification Process (PDF) 7 pages (October 2005)

Recertification Application Instructions (PDF) 10 pages (October 2005)

Recertification Application (Word document) 10 pages (October 2005)

Local Recertification Process/Application (PDF) 8 pages (June 2005)

Common questions

1. What is the Medical Assistance (MA) Rehabilitation Option?

This is an option under MA that allows for greater flexibility in how and by whom services can be provided. The two new service groupings are: adult rehabilitative mental health services (ARMHS) and crisis response services.

The ARMHS means mental health services which are rehabilitative and enable the recipient to develop and enhance psychiatric stability, social competencies, personal and emotional adjustment, and independent living and community skills, when these abilities are impaired by the symptoms of mental illness. Adult rehabilitative mental health services are also appropriate when provided to enable a recipient to retain stability and functioning, if the recipient would be at risk of significant functional decompensation or more restrictive service settings without these services.

Adult rehabilitative mental health services instruct, assist, and support the recipient in areas such as: interpersonal communication skills, community resource utilization and integration skills, crisis assistance, relapse prevention skills, health care directives, budgeting and shopping skills, healthy lifestyle skills and practices, cooking and nutrition skills, transportation skills, medication education and monitoring, mental illness symptom management skills, household management skills, employment-related skills, and transition to community living services.

The Crisis Response Services include mental health crisis assessment, mental health mobile crisis intervention services, and mental health crisis stabilization services.

2. Who are eligible recipients of ARMHS?

An eligible recipient is an MA eligible individual who is age 18 or older; is diagnosed with a medical condition, such as mental illness or traumatic brain injury, for which adult rehabilitative mental health services are needed; has substantial disability and functional impairment in three or more areas, so that self-sufficiency is markedly reduced; and has had a recent diagnostic assessment by a qualified professional that documents adult rehabilitative mental health services are medically necessary to address identified disability and functional impairments and individual recipient goals. Please note that this definition is more inclusive than the statutory definition of serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) as described in the Comprehensive Mental Health Act.

3. Who may provide these services?

ARMHS: The provider entity must be a county-operated entity certified by the state, OR, a non-county entity whose application has been approved by the host county and certified by the DHS. It is possible that both types of entities may provide services in one county. An entity must obtain additional “local” certification from each county in which it will provide services. The “local” certification must be based on the adequacy of the entity’s knowledge of that county’s local health and human service system, and the ability of the entity to coordinate its services with the other services available in that county. Crisis Response Services: Unlike ARMHS, crisis response services are provided only by a county entity or a provider entity that is under contract with the county board in the county where the potential crisis or emergency is occurring.

4. How will these services be reimbursed?

These services, have been approved by the Center for Medical Services (the federal medical assistance agency), and are reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis. They are not funded under a grant or a medical assistance waiver.

5. What is the certification process?

The provider certification process demonstrates the organizational capacity of an entity to provide the full array of adult rehabilitation mental health services. It requires the provider entity to meet legislatively defined standards such as the provision of qualified staff, their training and supervision; program responsiveness to individual needs; coordination with other providers; record keeping; and quality assurance. In some instances, providers may already be certified by CARF Behavioral Health or as a community mental health center, and may waive sections of this new process. For details, please refer to DHS bulletin 02-53-02 which describes the provider certification process.

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